12th Edition
A Concise History of the Middle East
A Concise History of the Middle East provides a comprehensive introduction to the history of this turbulent region. Spanning from pre-Islam to the present day, it explores the evolution of Islamic institutions and culture, the influence of the West, modernization efforts in the Middle East, the struggle of various peoples for political independence, the Arab–Israel conflict, the reassertion of Islamic values and power, the issues surrounding the Palestinian Question, and the Middle East post-9/11 and post-Arab uprisings.
The twelfth edition has been fully revised to reflect the most recent events in, and concerns of, the region, including the presence of ISIS and other non-state actors, the civil wars in Syria and Yemen, and the refugee crisis. New parts and part timelines will help students grasp and contextualize the long and complicated history of the region.
With updated biographical sketches and glossary, and a new concluding chapter, this book remains the quintessential text for students of Middle East history.
1. Introduction
Part I: The Rise of Islam to the Zenith of Abbasid Power
2. The Middle East Before Muhammad
3. Muhammad and the Rise of Islam
4. The Early Arab Conquests
5. The High Caliphate
Part II: The Turkic Empires from the Seljuks to Ottomans
6. The Rise of the Shi’a and the Influx of the Turks
7. The Crusader and Mongol Invasions
8. Islamic Civilization
9. Firearms, Slaves, and Empires
Part III: European Incursions and the Nationalist Reaction
10. European Interests and Imperialism
11. Westernizing Reform in the Nineteenth Century
12. The Rise of Nationalism
Part IV: World War I and Its Aftermath
13. The Roots of Arab Bitterness
14. Modernizing Rulers in the Independent States
15. Egypt and the Fertile Crescent Under European Control
Part V: The Arab-Israeli Conflict
16. The Contest for Palestine
17. Israel’s Rebirth and the Rise of Arab Nationalism
18. War and the Quest for Peace
Part VI: The Islamist Resurgence
19. Reassertion of Islamist Power
20. The 1991 Gulf War and the Peace Process
21. The Post-9/11 Decade in the Middle East
Part VII: The Arab Spring and its Aftermath
22. In the Season of Arab Discontent
23. The Regional Cold War in the Twenty-First Century
Appendix I
Appendix II
Biography
Arthur Goldschmidt Jr. is Professor Emeritus of Middle East History at Penn State University. He is the author of Modern Egypt: The Formation of a Nation-State, and the recipient of the Amoco Foundation Award for Outstanding Teaching and the 2000 Middle East Studies Association Mentoring Award.
Ibrahim Al-Marashi is Associate Professor of Middle East History at California State University, San Marcos. He is the co-author of Iraq’s Armed Forces: An Analytical History and The Modern History of Iraq, fourth edition, with Phebe Marr.
"Arthur Goldschmidt Jr. and Ibrahim Al-Marashi have refined, updated, and ultimately revamped the scholarly edifice that Goldschmidt first crafted more than thirty-five years ago. This edition makes the complexities of Middle East’s history accessible to yet another generation of students in the light of new scholarship and momentous recent developments in the region." - Hasan Kayali, University of California, San Diego, USA.
"A clear and concise guide to the complex history of the Middle East from the rise of Islam to the fall of ISIS, Goldschmidt and Marashi have written the essential text for all newcomers to Mid-Eastern studies." - Eugene Rogan, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
